Arizona Angels
These 6 cuties were rescued off an Indian Reservation in Arizona. They were found abandoned on a property and the neighbors were feeding them cows milk. Shortly after we got them tucked away in one of our foster homes, the pups crashed with lethargy, vomiting and high fevers. We suspected PARVO and we were right. All 6 pups were admitted to the specialty vet. $34,000 later (no joke) the pups made a full recovery and each was adopted. This was by far one of the most expensive medical cases we have taken on! But we weren't about to let them down.
Ethan
Ethan came all the way from Armenia to become a Lovebug. Ethan lost his front leg after some kids had tied a wire around it when he was just a tiny puppy. Thankfully Ethan was rescued and funds were raised to fly him to the United States to join our rescue. Ethan was a fun loving boy who didn't seem affected by his horrible past. He soon his forever home and has a few doggie pals to hang around with too!
Duncan
Sweet Duncan came to Lovebugs Rescue with a horrible tick infestation and skin infection. He had raw patches and hair loss all over. Duncan was just a young pup and didn't deserve the neglect he had already lived. But that all changed when he became a Lovebug. We were able to give him the medical care he needed and he is now being loved and cherished by his forever family.
Bridget
Beautiful Bridget was found abandoned in a remote deserted area by some nearby workers who would pass through the area. She had been seen for months. Thankfully, she was able to be rescued. Within 12 hrs she engorged with milk so she must have had puppies somewhere. Her finder took her back to the area she was picked up, and sure enough tucked in the foliage was a litter of newborn puppies! Bridget was reunited with her family and they immediately went to one of our awesome foster homes. Bridget and all her puppies have been adopted into their forever home. Bridget is living the life in Newport Beach now!
Juliet
Juliet came to Lovebugs with a male dog named Romeo. They had a big secret to reveal when Juliets belly began to grow. Juliet gave birth to a litter of beautiful healthy pups, and everyone found wonderful homes thanks to Lovebugs Rescue!
Shaq
Shaq and his brother Kobe were found running around a neighborhood at just 7 weeks old. A good samaritan scooped them to safety and called Lovebugs. The boys had terrible skin infections and demodex mange. Their skin was raw and full of scabs, and they were very underweight. Thankfully we had meds on hand to get them more comfortable. The boys thrived in their foster home and each were adopted into an amazing furever home!
Tobi
Tobi is just one of many examples of how a dog can go from pure neglect to someone's beloved pet. And what a difference a grooming makes! Tobi once lived on the streets without a family to call his own. He was rescued and now lives with a family who loves him dearly!
Tanner
Tanner was rescued from the streets of Mexico. While roaming the streets, some kids through it would be fun to spray paint a swastica on Tanners head. One of our volunteers drove to pick up Tanner and foster him. While he was in foster care, Tanner got very sick and ended up in the hospital when his blood platelets were at ZERO. This was likely from tick bourne disease from Mexico and Tanner could have died if this had not been treated right way. After spending a week in the hospital, he was released. But his battle was far from over. Tanner had to be on steroids for months and the side affects took a toll and Tanner lost a lot of body mass. When his platelets were finally up enough he was able to be weaned from steroids. His medical care cost $5,600. But the best part of the story is that Tanner found the most AMAZING owner ever. His journey was meant to be with our rescue, and now he is living the life of one very loved pooch!
Earl
Lovebugs Rescue was contacted by a wonderful lady named Katie, who went above and beyond to save this sweet boy. Katie was coming home from a backpacking trip in Yosemite. She stopped at a gas station in Earlimart, CA, when something caught her eye. A dog was wedged into a corner between a table and a wall. He was in bad shape. He was covered in mats and feces, and you could not tell where the dog ended and the mats began. She spoke with the store clerk about the dog, and the clerk began to explain that he had been there for over a MONTH. There was a bowl outside for him with nothing but cigarette butts and ash inside. No water. Temperatures that day reached 110 degrees. Thankfully, Katie is one of those people that was not willing to let the dog sit in that condition left to die. She picked him up and put him in her car. His name is Earl, and he was grateful as he pushed his body up against a cooler she had in the car to cool himself off. Katie took it upon herself to start his vetting. Surprisingly, he is in fairly good shape, aside from one of his eyes that is dry and currently being medicated. Katie reached out to various rescue groups for help, as she is moving away to school in a week. Earl became a Lovebug shortly after and received all of his vetting. He won the hearts over of a former adopter who had recently lost her first Lovebug to congestive heart failure. Earl will never have to look back again
Signal
The before photo is the condition Signal came to us in the day we rescued him from off the streets. The after is when he was adopted into his forever home. What a transformation! Fostering SAVES lives!
Krishna
Krishna came to Lovebugs Rescue with 6 newborn pups. She was terribly matted and thin. We were able to cut off some of the mats while she stayed glued to her pups the first two weeks. Once everyone was settled we were able to give Krishna the spa day she so deserved. Krishna is the sweetest gal and loves everyone she meets. She is now living in San Diego with her forever family and all her puppies have found their forever homes.
Signal
Humans have the luxury of brushing their teeth daily. Dogs do not. As a result many dogs end up having neglected teeth and gums. We see this all too often with many of our rescue dogs including Signal. Signal is a ten year old Pomeranian that was found on the streets of Los Angeles. Overgrown toenails and a painful skin condition were the least of his worries. One look inside Signals mouth and it was clear this dog has been living with severe dental disease. As hard as these photos are to look at imagine the pain Signal has been living with for a very long time. The healing begins today. Thanks to Lovebugs Rescue Signal received his dental procedure with our friends at Arbor Animal Hospital and he is on his way to a better new life.
Baby Barney
Barney came to us as a newborn puppy after we received an after hours plea from the shelter. Our rescue director literally had to get up from the dinner table to go rescue this tiny tot and get it to our bottle feeder. Otherwise, this pup just starting his life would be euthanized. Baby Barney was said to have been found on someones door step. When we got him, he was covered in live worms and fleas and boy was he hungry! As you can see, that bottle feeding paid off and Baby Barney, now named Simon joins a pack in his new home.
Skipper
Skipper came to our rescue after we found him on the special needs list at the shelter. Skipper looked more like an elephant, than a dog at first sight. This poor fella has suffered a life of allergies that caused him to itch his skin raw. Skipper had lived in discomfort for so long, but once he became a Lovebug, those days were over. First Skipper needed a course of antibiotics to clear up the secondary bacterial infection his condition caused. He was also on a dose of prednisone to control the itch. And finally, he is on Apoquel ongoing to keep the allergies under control. Skipper will need to remain on the Apoquel for life, but what an easy fix to turn him into the pooch he was always meant to be!
Elsa
It is hard to believe this is the same dog. Elsa was abandoned in a Home Depot parking lot, shaved and rail thin. She must have had a recent litter of puppies, because her teats were still full from nursing. However, no puppies were to be found. We scooped Elsa to safety and gave her round the clock care, including meals she could count on. Elsa was quite a handful for our rescue. She was full of energy and an escape artist. While at the dog park one day, we stumbled across a nice couple that have a passion for the Husky breed. The very next day, Elsa became a member of their pack. This couple also had plans to start their own rescue and they recently opened their doors as Shadow Husky Rescue. You can find Elsa hanging around their with her friends!
Goldilocks
Goldilocks was turned into the Orange shelter with two bright red bows in her hair. At first glance, we wondered why on Earth someone would leave her a the shelter. But a closer looked showed us why. Goldilocks had a large tumor hanging from her abdomen. We quickly scooped this one eyed cutie to safety and had her tumor removed, which was non cancerous. Now Goldilocks has joined her new forever home!
Domino
Domino was rescued from the Coachella Shelter after he had suffered a severe eye injury, that was thought to be from a dog attack. Despite the horrific injury, Domino wagged his tail and gave kisses the entire way home from the shelter. We immediately got Domino into surgery that very same day to have his eye removed. This little one eyed terrier has the sweetest disposition and we are so glad we were able to help him out.
Nashville
Nashville was found roaming as a stray with a terrible burn on his head. He was also not very trusting with new people and would bark and lunge at people when they entered his foster home. Nashville underwent several weeks of treatment to allow his skin to heal. Then the next obstacle was finding Nashville a family he would allow into his life. A couple who fell in love with Nashvilles story, drove all the way from Washington to meet him. The rest is history!
Jerry
Jerry came to us with his brother Ben with what started out as upper respiratory infection. It quickly turned into pneumonia. Ben got better, but Jerry continued to decline. Jerry tested positive for Distemper and was fighting for his life. At one point, the speciality hospital told us that they were not there to provide hospice service. Jerrys foster mom did not give up on him. She and her husband worked around the clock feeding and caring for Jerry. And in the end, they saved his life. Jerry is one of our miracle dogs who survived despite the odds were against him.
Bianca
Bianca was brought to us while we were at a shelter adoption event. A man found her crying in the corner of his yard. The shelter, would of course, have no other alternative than to euthanize Bianca. We do not normally take in kittens, but we could not say no to this man. Now Bianca is named Rousey, and she is the one in the back of her new brother Simon.
Anna
Anna was roaming as a stray for 1 1/2 years in Santa Ana behind the Shinoda design center. The homeless people had been feeding her, everyone knew of her, but no one could catch her. Until one day, Anna had 6 puppies behind one of the buildings. The puppies were sitting out in the direct sunlight when Anna took off to go get food. A good samaritan scooped the puppies up to safety and contacted Lovebugs Rescue right away. Now it was up to us to catch mama. With the help of several people, we were able to set a trap out and catch Anna when she returned to look for her puppies. Anna was happily reunited with her puppies and the rest is history!
Orphaned Puppies
An urgent plea from the shelter, and off we went to pick up these 5 four week old puppies weaned way too early from their mama. Someone turned them into the shelter without mama. Puppies were infested in hundreds of fleas which we had to remove with a flea comb due to the pups young age. Thankfully, the puppies were able to eat soft food and thrived in our foster home. They have all been placed into forever homes!
Whisper
Whisper was left behind at the shelter and quickly was listed for euthanasia because she had a heart defect called Patent Ductus Arteriosus. Thankfully for Whisper, this can be surgically repaired. But at a hefty price tag! Whisper had a successful surgery and she is now with her forever family!
Molly
Molly was turned into the shelter with a degloved paw and several wounds on her body. She had been hit by a car and thankfully, her injuries were not worse. Molly underwent a course of strong antibiotics and several cleaning and wrapping treatments until her injuries healed. They did and now she is in her forever home!
Jack Sparrow
Jack Sparrow was discarded at the shelter after he suffered a head concussion. The impact was so severe, it knocked his left eye out of the socket. We quickly rushed Jack from the shelter to our vet where he underwent an emergency surgery to reposition his eye. Jack did not regain eye sight in that left eye, however he did gain a wonderful family to call his own!
Arwen
Arwen was found wandering outside on her own in horrible condition. It appeared she had been used as a breeder dog for several years and dumped when she was no longer of use to the breeder. Arwen was so matted she had chewing gum stuck to her jaw making it difficult for her to even open her mouth to eat or drink! Arwen also had a very large tumor which had to be removed by our specialty vet so it did not affect her other organs. Arwen is now living with another Lovebug!
Amelia
Amelia was discarded at the Orange Shelter and quickly made it to the euthanasia list. Thankfully, Lovebugs Rescue came to the rescue in the nick of time! Amelia underwent two surgeries. One to repair a significant hernia she had where her uterus was coming through. A second to address her neglected mouth and dental disease. Amelia was also treated for a secondary skin infection on her coat. It was all worth it because look at her now with her new mommy and daddy!
Tia Jane
Tia Jane was found wandering around the streets of Tijuana Mexico, filthy and pregnant. Tia gave birth to 8 puppies and quickly got scooped up and brought to the US with Lovebugs Rescue. Tia was covered in ticks, and the entire litter needed to be treated for various parasites. This family of 9 all have new homes to call their own!
Charlie
We were asked by a local shelter to take Charlie and treat him for the terrible mange he was suffering from. Charlies recovery took several months with repeated skin scrapings until he tested negative. Finally, his treatment paid off and he was mange free! Charlie is now in his forever home!
Holly
Holly came to us as an owner surrender. This purebred Maltese was purchased at Russos pet store and sadly, fell into the hands of a family who got bored of their dog very quickly. When Holly arrived to us, she had been dyed pink. Her coat was painfully matted to the skin and she was covered in flea dirt and live fleas. We are happy to say that little Miss Holly is now loving the pampered life in her forever home with another Maltese.
Teddy
PARVO strikes again! Teddy was discarded at the shelter with the deadly PARVO virus. He was scheduled to be euthanized within the hour if a rescue did not come for him. Lovebugs Rescue did come for Teddy, and gave him the life saving treatment he needed. Now Teddy is living the life in Coto de Caza. PARVO can be avoided if you keep your puppy or adult dog up to date with their DHP vaccination.
Stella
Stella came to us after living a life of an outdoor dog being tied up. Stella was found running loose in the streets dragging a chain behind her. Once Stella was captured, she needed to learn how to be a domestic dog living inside a home. Stella quickly picked that up, and she is now in her forever home never to worry about being on her own again.
Vixen
Vixen was one of our amazing mommy dogs, but she was also one of our worst tick infested cases we have ever seen. Vixen was covered head to toe with hundreds of ticks under her matted coat - baby ticks, adult ticks, all sizes and shapes. Hundreds! Once Vixen was shaved by our groomer, we were able to start picking off the ticks. Because Vixen was a nursing mom of 3 newborn puppies, the ticks had to be hand picked off as tick prevention topical could harm the newborn puppies. Vixen is now a pampered pooch in her forever home, and all three of her puppies have also been adopted!
Carrie Ingalls
Carrie Ingalls was rescued with her siblings. All of them had a terrible mange condition that was very uncomfortable and itchy. Carrie Ingalls, being the runt of the litter was by far the worst. She had several open sores and dry crusted over skin as a result infection. Carrie underwent several rounds of treatment, and she is now in her forever home!
Buddy
Buddy was discarded at the shelter as a 7 week old puppy with multiple draining abscesses and a broken front leg. He was diagnosed with a condition called Puppy Strangles. Buddy underwent months of painful recovery which included two surgeries. In the end, it was well worth it! Buddy is now loving life in his forever home!
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley was an amazing mommy dog, that gave birth to 3 gorgeous healthy puppies. Unfortunately, Annie was likely used as a breeder dog in her former life and was terribly neglected. She needed to have extensive dental work done. Additionally, due to years of breeding, Annie also underwent a single mastectomy procedure. Annie has since recovered and was adopted. She is enjoying life in her new home!
Merlin
Merlin was turned into the Orange County animal shelter with the entire surface of his head and portions of his body burned. Despite this horrible abuse, Merlin is a happy little doggie who loves people. It took about a month for Merlins skin to heal, and what a difference some TLC made! Merlin, now named Marley has found a wonderful home and has a new furry sister named Baby.
Laurel
Laurel was on her way into the Orange County animal shelter when we were asked to save her and her brother Hardy. Laurel had four deformed paws, similar to club foot. It was so severe, she needed to have an orthopedic surgeon correct each foot. Laurel went through two surgeries in an attempt to correct the deformities. We are happy to say the surgeries were a success and Laurel, now named Lola is able to run and play like any other puppy. She was adopted by a wonderful family and has a new Beagle brother.
Pixie
Pixie was surrendered to our rescue when her previous owner passed away. When we got Pixie her skin was very red, itchy and raw. She has chronic allergies that went left untreated for so many years. As a result, she developed yeast and bacterial infections all over her skin. We treated her with antibiotics and allergy medication to help relieve her pain. Pixie will always have an allergic condition, but at least she is now in a home where it is being treated and managed so this little girl doesn't have to live in discomfort.
Oliver
We found Oliver in the medical ward of the Riverside Animal Shelter when we were there to pull some other dogs. The shelter asked if we could take this poor 4 month old puppy that had his jaw broken, likely related to being physically abused by a human. We immediatley took him to a specialist who determined due to his age and undeveloped bone structure, he was not a candidate for surgery. However, we were able to help him through his painful recovery to realign his jaw to the best of our ability. He is now in a loving happy home living a normal doggie life.
Daphne
Daphne was turned into the Redlands Animal Shelter a matted mess. Because she was so badly matted, she had to be shaved down. Once she was shaved, the horror was revealed that she had a terrible skin reaction that exposed raw skin on the top of her back. Our vet determined that she was likely burned by the heated thermal blanket during her shelter spay. Days later the skin blistered up and the pain began. She went through extensive treatement with ointments and antibiotics to heal the skin.
Kona
Kona and his siblings were rescued from an LA City shelter the day they were scheduled to be euthanized. Without a mom, these pups were bottle fed around the clock every two hours. The bottle feeding paid off, as you can see Kona is growing up to be a big boy and so are his brothers and sisters.
Nora
We pulled Nora from the Baldwin Park shelter where she sat with two very cherry eyes. Nora also has allergies which made her cherry eyes very irritating and itchy. Our vets worked their magic, and now Nora no longer has to live with her cherries. You may find Nora in Corona Del Mar taking a walk along the beach with her mommy.
Peapod
Peapod was dumped at the Baldwin Park shelter with a belly full of pups, which she unloaded on the cold shelter floor the next morning. Peapod was a matted, filthy mess and had to wait a 5 day stray wait before we could get her and her pups out of the shelter. There she sat for 5 days with strangers peering into her kennel while nursing her family. The after photo was after her jail break and a good shave down. She is now living in Los Angeles with her new family and all her pups are in their forever homes.
Bandi
Bandi was pulled from Orange County Shelter with a hair-do that had seen better days. His fur had grown out into dreadlocks that were so matted they were painfully pulling on his skin with every move he made. We all too often see dogs neglected in this manner. Although our groomer has worked wonders on our dogs, his magic was no match for the terrible condition of Bandi’s dreads so he had to be shaved. We do expect his curly locks to grow back in no time!
Tiny Sancho
Tiny Sancho was pulled from Orange County Shelter. Emaciated and cold, shelter life was no match for him. We noticed he held his back right leg up when he walked. An xray from our vet showed an old fracture in his right hip which was making it painful for Sancho to use that leg. Sancho underwent a $1,300 surgery to remove the dead bone in his hip. Because his muscles in his right leg were underdeveloped due to lack of use, he is currently undergoing post surgery physical therapy to build the muscle back up and regain use of his leg. We expect a full recovery for Sancho. We were able to fund Sancho’s surgery through in-kind donations sold at our yard sale combined with sales from our ebay store.
Snowy
We found Snowy in South LA shelter, where he sat in pain for weeks with a ruptured eye from a deep ulcer. His pain was so severe he could hardly walk. We immediately got Snowy into our vet to be evaluated and schedule him for surgery. Three days later, Snowy underwent a $1,000 Surgery to remove his left eye. This was made possible by public donations we raised via Snowy’s chipin. The day he was brought home from his surgery, he was up walking around as if his weeks of pain was a distant memory. A few months later, he was adopted by a couple who had recently lost a special needs Chihuahua named Cooper. Snowy was adopted into this loving home and a month later, Snowy adopted his very own Chihuahua pal named Hank.
Rupert
Rupert was dumped in one of our volunteer’s back yards. We quickly noticed he walked crouched over and it appeared something was wrong with his hind legs. An xray from our vet showed Rupert had double luxating patellas with hamstring contraction. Thanks to the generous support of the public, we were able to raise $1,500 to cover Ruperts surgery to repair both his back knees. Rupert was adopted weeks before his surgery, and his family took him all the way through his long recovery process. The surgery was a success and he is now standing up straight and walking pain free. He is a happy little guy who loves his tennis ball!
